Sandvik invests heavily in innovation, with approximately 2,600 of the company's 39,000 employees performing research at some 50 R&D centers worldwide.
Two of these researchers are
A rock drill bit comes in various sizes, and a smaller model looks like a crown equipped with half a dozen spherical inserts. Since 1945 Sandvik has manufactured inserts of cemented carbide for rock drilling, where hard tungsten carbide is mixed with cobalt, which acts like a binding glue, creating an extremely hard composite that can drill through rock at an impressive speed.
'We wanted to do research to investigate if it is possible to achieve a similar performance if we substituted cobalt with a high-strength steel,' says Borgh. At the beginning of 2022 there was a call for research projects on sustainable metals. This reflected the car industry's shift to electric cars and the subsequent increased draw on the world's supply of cobalt, which is used in car batteries as well as other applications. The time was ripe to apply for funding.
'We're very proud to have received the funding and for the collaboration with KTH, which means that we can accelerate our development with the help of the academy and their recently developed modeling methods,' says Norgren. 'Also, having the end customer,
The method is unique and on the cutting edge.
KTH will be responsible for materials modeling based on Sandvik requirements, using their newly developed method that can optimize new high-strength steel grades, which can potentially be used as a binder phase in cemented carbides.
'The method is unique and [on the] cutting edge,' says Borgh. 'Combined with the material and application knowledge from industry partners this forms a strong partnership. Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions will manufacture new cemented carbide grades based on the material modeling suggestions. We will test and analyze the new materials in our laboratory, which is designed for rock drilling applications. The drill bits will also be tested in one of
Important for sustainability
The project received strong support within the organization. The R&D manager for cemented carbides,
This is extremely difficult. No one has done anything like this before.
The researchers are optimistic, despite the immense challenge. A high-strength steel may well become a base to replace cobalt. 'We want to use a special effect to boost the performance of the steel,' Borgh says. 'This is extremely difficult. No one has done anything like this before.'
The project started in
Sandvik is an engineering group providing products and solutions for mining and rock excavation, rock processing and metal cutting based on innovation, digitalization and sustainable engineering.
Contact:
Tel: +46 8 456 11 00
(C) 2022 Electronic News Publishing, source